Plights and Perils of Persevering Pioneers

G Olson Leland

Description

I have been blessed with a long life. A jack-of-all-trades and master of some. From tinker to truck driver, life is the best on-the-job training program ever devised. Life presents a new learning experience with each sunrise. We must make the most of each one. As you near the end of life's road being tired, worn out, and weary, you still try to find purpose. You look for any light at the end of the tunnel; not seeing one, you still move on. Human nature pulls, pushes, and prods us forward. Throwing in the towel is not an option. My life of trials and tribulations has been 55 plus years in the making, and it only seemed to strengthen me. My purpose in life has to be honoring the memory of my ancestors, who gave so much to prepare the way for me. May they all rest in peace, knowing they ran their race well.

Sujets

• Médecine

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 31 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645753964
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Plights and Perils of Persevering Pioneers
Leland G Olson
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-03-31
Plights and Perils of Persevering Pioneers About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment Chapter 1 The Atlantic Crossing Chapter 2 New York to Michigan Chapter 3 Dakota Territory Chapter 4 Off to North Dakota Chapter 5 Destination: Alberta, Canada Chapter 6 Ole Killed by Grizzly Bear Chapter 7 Chris Lost in Storm Chapter 8 Deep, Severe Frostbite Chapter 9 Chris Loses Limbs Chapter 10 Pioneer Peace, At Last
About the Author
Leland G Olson was a farm kid, not poor, but he learned about scratching with the chickens. This book had a lengthy gestation process, forming in his mind for decades while he lived through almost every aspect involved with a severe spinal cord injury. He credits his survival to a loving creator and strength received from the memories of those who prepared the way for him. Their spirits spoke to him and encouraged him to press onward.
Dedication
To my loving family, who still do not believe I can write.
Copyright Information ©
Leland G Olson (2020)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of creative nonfiction. The events are portrayed to the best of author’s memory. While all the stories in this book are true, some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Olson, Leland G
Plights and Perils of Persevering Pioneers
ISBN 9781645753940 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781645753957 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645753964 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020903266
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
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Acknowledgment
I would like to acknowledge Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. They may let me dwell for a spell in the authors’ community. I must acknowledge my family members who have gone on before me, leaving a legacy of faith, hope, and pride. Loving families are the glue that binds great nations together.

"What kind of people live around here?
The same kind you had where you came from."
– Unknown
Chapter 1

The Atlantic Crossing
There was an exodus of biblical proportion, as thousands of people left the Scandinavian countries in the 1870s. Brave, adventurous, and some hungry people wanted to go to that new land of milk and honey. The word from earlier travelers came back it created an urgency, a sense of haste to get to that land and stake claim to homestead, then improve land, that would become their own. A mass of humanity, tempered by a hard life, now seeking a better, new way to live. Louie and Anna Karlson left Norway in 1877. They traveled to Liverpool, England, then boarded a Cunard Line Steamship for the uncertain, thirteen-day trip to cross the wide Atlantic Ocean. They were fearless newlyweds, not yet owners of extensive personal property. Everything they owned was with them, being carried or packed in a steamer trunk. A strong, unshakable faith was carried on their happy faces, in their hearts and actions.
To them, it was a cheerful, romantic and uneventful crossing. In their minds, it was their personal honeymoon cruise, the tickets were $21.00 each. The big boat was a couple 100 miles (ca. 161 kilometers) off the Massachusetts coast when smooth sailing weather took a radical change. The ship encountered a huge, powerful nor’easter. Large as it was, that ship bobbed around like a fishing cork, or a small skiff, on the churning water. Gigantic waves pounded it mercilessly as the waves resembled mountains. That worthy ship slowly labored up and over each mountain only to be quickly plunged down into the next valley, thrilling or possibly petrifying the wealthy passengers on the upper deck.
Poor immigrants traveling below deck received the full booming, crashing, and amplified sound of the ship being battered by each heavy wave. Below deck there was little ventilation, the air was hot and sticky, many unwashed bodies all added to the calamity that the storm now presented. People became seasick, the conversations revealed minds were filled with doubt about the decision to travel to that new, far-off land.
It was enough to scare the passengers into thoughts of death, maybe contemplating leaving that sinking ship as a heavenly body. Some with doubts about eternity, saw a fiery abyss, and not the boiler room. A few, just descending to the deep, dark depths of the ocean, while trapped in the bowels of the ship. To make shattered nerves worse, travel was near iceberg-hidden waters. There were times when other steamships could be viewed traveling in the opposite direction. A portion of that trip was made in fog, the eastbound lanes and the westbound lanes paralleled quite close in some waters, making it dangerous in the dense fog. The captain cheerfully announced one foggy morning not to worry, “that is what foghorns are for,” as he made a proud, loud and long test blast on his prized musical instrument.
Anna was nearing the time to give birth and said to Louie, “Your father never did like me, you knew that?”
Louie replied, “No, I did not know that.”
"Your father caught me out walking in the woods one day and he walked with me. He said in a tone of voice I’ve never heard him use, it was almost a hissing sound, ‘Babies are supposed to take nine months, didn’t you know that?’ He could see I was pregnant, that outburst really surprised and shocked me. He asked me, ‘Are you going to take our Louie and leave Norway, now that you have him?’
“Anna, please do not let that bother you, he will get over it in time.”
“My father has very strict, old-fashioned ways. If your father had it to do over, he would never send you into Oslo by yourself again.”
“That might be true, but what is done is history, and we will all make the most of it. The important thing is that I love you and my father will learn to love you.”
This carnival-like roller-coaster cruise had started to make him a bit seasick. The air was hot and stifling for this fearless, strong, red-haired Viking sailor . It was making him think seriously about being sick and losing that meager breakfast of gruesome gruel. As the trip was nearing its end, Anna cried out, “Louie, go find Ingeborg Johansson. I think the baby is coming. She told me to come and get her when it was time, I’m sure the time has come.” He searched and soon found Ingeborg and asked her to come quick as his wife was in labor. They were in a location that wasn’t quite so crowded.
Ingeborg examined her, then replied, “Oh my, I think the baby is coming the wrong way.”
She told Louie, “Quickly now, pick your wife up and turn her body over then hold her, I believe the baby will turn itself inside of her.” Louie looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face but obeyed her stern command. He held his crying wife very tightly and slowly turned her over. It was only a short time but seemed like an eternity with Anna moaning and crying in his arms. Ingeborg shouted, “Praise the Lord! It worked. Your baby is coming into this world, the right way now.” It was only a few moments before the crying of a new baby was heard. A cheer went out from the passengers in that part of the ship. A new Norwegian-American was born aboard ship that day, a baby boy was born, they named him Christian. He was a big, healthy baby.
Chapter 2

New York to Michigan
The Karlson family was slowly processed through immigration at Ellis Island in New York. It took hours. To conserve what little money they had in their small nest egg, they decided to leave for Michigan as soon as possible. There were several first and second cousins already working in the copper mines to help them get settled when they arrived. Most men had worked in the mines of Norway and had found similar safety standards. The tons of ore delivered per man was the bottom line for everybody in the world. Their ancestors in Norway were among the most primitive copper miners, using burning torches that consumed the oxygen they were breathing. New explosive materials were developed along with mining techniques which increased production dramatically. Safety standards were being placed on the back burner in many instances, once a miner always a miner, danger or not. Most of the miners in Norway had fathers who were farmers. They grew up loving the life on the farm and had dreams of owning their own farm sooner or later. It created a great incentive to work hard in the mines to save money. The goal was to continue going west where they could homestead land and improve it until it became their own. With dreams like that, a strong growing nation grew and prospered on the backs of energetic God-fearing people.
Many of the immigrants from Europe worked in the copper mines of Michigan before they migrated along the edge of Lake Superior to Minnesota, as iron mines were flourishing there. Iron ore was being shipped from Duluth through Lake Superior, then to all parts of the world. It was open-pit mining, much different working conditions than the underground copper mines. Many people stayed in Northern Minnesota and farmed land. They m